In short: Another great Purple Patch raceIn full: Fair shout about having to wait for the baggage but some of these other comments are madness. If every body waits until the very last minute to drop their bag or go to the toilet then of course there are going to be queues and yes in November running along a tow path there is going to be a little mud. I have done numerous PP events and they are always well organised. Had a great run, fantastic scenery, good cheery marshals, and a mention on the tannoy as I crossed the line - no PB but will be back next year.Date of review: November 9, 2009

In short: Lovely run, doubtful organisationIn full: I loved the run along the towpath. Although I accept the conditions may not to be everyone's liking, they were just what I'd expect from the canal path in November.Scenery lovely, runners friendly, marshalls and water stations great, weather better than it might have been.Just a shame that the organisation from the obviously committed and friendly Purple people was a bit gappy. they must have known how many runners were turning up, so they should shoulder some of the blame for the lack of toilets and terrible baggage check-in system.The real shame was, having run a great race and really enjoyed the camaraderie at the end, we all got very chilled waiting for the van filled with our fleeces. There was no communication about the delay from the organisers and I was left feeling very let-down. Which was a shame.Date of review: November 9, 2009

In short: Very disappointing...In full: Overall, this race was poorly organised. There were 400 people running, and only 6 toilets and one baggage van at the start, which caused huge queues in the freezing cold. It also meant the start of the race had to be delayed 10 mins to wait for everyone.

The race was billed as "multi terrain", which should have been replaced with the words "muddy, slippery and dangerous". I have not run this route before, but cannot work out why you would try to race 400 people down a muddy, narrow towpath in November. Unsurprisingly, times were poor and some people were injured slipping over.

At the end, the baggage was very late, which meant people were standing around freezing for a long time. There were minimal announcements or explanations (other than one which said the van would be 5 mins, and then it turned up 30 mins later). The van driver told us he "got lost", which for a delivery company (no doubt with GPS etc) isn't good enough.

I understand that in previous years the race runs the opposite direction. This would make more sense, as there is a lot more room to get people spread out at the finishing end. This year, there were hundreds of people trying to fit through one person gates at the very start of the race, which just makes no sense.

The most positive aspects (and unfortunately there were too few) were the pre-race communications, and the marshals. Numerous people, positive and they ran well organised water stations. Well done!

In summary, I expected a lot more thought to have gone into a race that has been running for a number of years.Date of review: November 9, 2009

In full: Purple Patch do a fantastic job organising these slightly 'different runs'. Great fun. Loved the massage at the end - tougher than the run! Ok, the baggage van was delayed but heh the M25 is a nightmare. A run I will do every year until my legs can take no more. Date of review: November 9, 2009

In short: It is nice to run a half-marathon, even with struggling organisationIn full: Everything went fine, except for freezing over 30 minutes at arrival, waiting for luggage van to arrival (apparently for traffic issues, but some mashalls were giving other org glitches...) I will do it again anyway!Date of review: November 9, 2009

In short: Slippy, slidey and super!In full: Wasn't looking for a PB in this race which was good as the bottle neck at the start would have hindered me (and did!).

A bit slippy in paces but all good fun, some good support from the marshalls and family supporters who kept appearing at intervals making me think I was going mad or backwards!

A nice sunday moring run, no pressure but lovely to amble along the canal towpath (with exception of a few drunks...10.30am on a sunday morning with a can of no brand lager...weird!...go for a run instead!)

Didn't have a bag so no problems there but was pretty cold at the end so would have been miserable if I'd had to wait.

Nice encouraging commentry as we came over the finiash line, I'll be back next year, if only becasue it will start with a nice downhill stretch!Date of review: November 9, 2009

In short: A great, well organised social event for runnersIn full: Why "social event"? Because it's so much more laid back and relaxed than many runs and that's meant in a really positive way. It would suit beginners as well as more seasoned runners, but less so club runners as PB's are less likely. Great route, great marshals (specially at mile 2.26 with one helping an injured runner, and about half way when someone was clearly struggling).

In short: good friendly marshals, very encouraging.In full: bit slippy on the towpath, although scenery makes up for it. I previously did this in opposite direction, but prefer it this way, look forward to next year.Date of review: November 9, 2009